Disability Studies in Education

Disability Studies in Education: The Need for a Plurality and Perspectives on Disability
By: Susan Baglieri, Jan W. Valle, David J. Connor, and Deborah J. Gallagher


  • Incrementalists and Reconceptualists
  • Inclusive Education Debate
  • "It is not that people do not vary or differ from one another in sometimes very noticeable ways, but to call or think of some of those differences as “disabilities” is to make a social judgment, not a neutral or value-free observation."
  • It is what we make of these differences that matters
  • If the definitions of a disability can change then they are a product of judgment. May vary from state to state, or district to district. 
  • Co-teaching and modifying/accommodating instruction
  • "We labor away at trying to fix or remediate the students rather than altering the teaching and learning conditions in the classroom."
  • UDL - a way to approach all teaching situations useful to all teachers.  All students posses a unique set of strengths and needs.


  • a) think broadly about the learning opportunities (cognitive, social, and emotional) that can be featured in our curricula and teaching practices,

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  • (b) think fluidly about the ways that learners may choose to or need to interact with the curriculum and classroom/school space to the maximum benefit, and

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  • (c) recognize and put a stop to educational practices and arrangements that position general and special educators as occupying different roles and responsibilities in the inclusive classroom/school.
    • Design ways that offer possibility instead of making modifications based on what we believe  learner can or cannot do.

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